Wearable computer system and modes of operating the system

ABSTRACT

A wearable computer system has a user interface with at least an audio-only mode of operating, and that is natural in appearance and facilitates natural interactions with the system and the user&#39;s surroundings. The wearable computer system may retrieve information from the user&#39;s voice or surroundings using a passive user interface. The audio-only user interface for the wearable computer system may include two audio receivers and a single output device, such as a speaker, that provides audio data directly to the user. The two audio receivers may be miniature microphones that collaborate to input audio signals from the user&#39;s surroundings while also accurately inputting voice commands from the user. Additionally, the user may enter natural voice commands to the wearable computer system in a manner that blends in with the natural phrases and terminology spoken by the user.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a wearable computer system, and moreparticularly to contextual information storage and retrieval using awearable computer system.

BACKGROUND

Advances in computer electronics technology have reduced the size ofportable computer systems while increasing the processing speed andmemory capacity. More recently, these advances have resulted in the useof a new type of portable computer system known as a wearable computersystem. Wearable computer systems can be worn by a user and allow theuser to operate the computer system while performing other actions, suchas walking or standing. Wearable computers are also convenient to use inworkspaces that do not offer enough space to use conventional computersor in workspaces that require hands-free operation of computers. Morerecently, GPS (global positioning system) sensors have been added towearable computer systems, which enable the user to store location datato the wearable computer system or request current location data fromthe wearable computer system. For example, wearable computer systemswith GPS sensors may detect the user's location, from which informationthe system may be able to determine whether the user is home, forexample, or near a grocery store or other resource location. As such,the wearable computer system may, for example, display a notice to theuser to purchase groceries when in the vicinity of the grocery store.

The “hands-free” nature of wearable computer systems offers advantagesnot available with other portable computer systems, such as notebookcomputers and PDAs (personal digital assistants). However, wearablecomputer systems are currently not nearly as widely used as otherportable computer systems. While actual wearable computer housings aremuch smaller than notebook computers, user interface devices for thewearable computer systems are often considered to be obtrusive, appearunusual, and do not enable natural interaction with the wearablecomputer system. For example, the user interface typically includes asmall video display screen worn on the user's head. These video displayscreens are generally visor displays or eyeglass displays, both of whichare worn on the head of the user so that the screen is positioned wherethe user can view it.

In addition, wearable computer systems often include a microphone sothat the user may enter voice commands to the computer system. Whilehands-free operation of wearable computer systems using voice commandsis convenient, the language and syntax used to enter the voice commandsmay be disruptive to a conversation that the user is having with someoneat the same time.

SUMMARY

The invention provides a wearable computer system that is more naturalin appearance and facilitates natural interactions with the system andthe user's surroundings. The invention also provides increasedfunctionality in wearable computer systems.

In one aspect, the invention provides a wearable computer system thatincludes a computer unit wearable by a user and which has at least amode of operation with an audio-only user interface. The computer unitmay be worn on the belt, or in a pocket, of the user to enablehands-free operation of the wearable computer system. The audio-onlyuser interface includes devices that allow the user to store informationto the computer unit using audio signals, such as the voice of the user,and a device that allows the computer unit to output information to theuser in the form of audio signals.

In one embodiment, the audio-only user interface includes an audioreceiver, such as a personal microphone, that is wearable by the userand connectable to the computer unit to enable the audio receiver toreceive voice signals from the user and provide the voice signals to thecomputer unit for processing. In addition, the audio-only user interfaceincludes a speaker that is likewise wearable by the user and connectableto the computer unit, the speaker enabling the computer unit to sendaudio signals to the speaker to provide output to the user.

In another embodiment of the invention, an audio-only user interfaceincludes a first and a second audio receiver. The first audio receiveris wearable by the user and is connectable to the computer unit toenable the first audio receiver to receive voice signals from the userand provide the voice signals to the computer unit for processing. Thesecond audio receiver is also wearable by the user and connectable tothe computer unit so as to enable the second audio receiver to inputaudio signals from the user's surroundings to the computer unit. In oneimplementation, the first audio receiver is a personal microphone thatreceives audio input from the user, and the second audio receiver is anenvironmental microphone that receives audio input from the user'ssurroundings. The audio signals received by the first audio receiverthat do not originate with the user may be filtered with an audio filter(for example, by using a noise-canceling microphone). As such, voicesignals from the user may be received without interference fromenvironmental noise.

The wearable computer system may also include a video display but stillprovide the mode of operation where the interface with the user isaudio-only. For example, the wearable computer unit, in oneimplementation, may comprise a personal digital assistant (PDA), orhand-held computer, which in the audio-only mode is kept in the user'spocket or on a belt clip. In such an implementation, the user may accessinformation on the screen of the PDA, if, for example, hands-freeoperation is not needed, by taking the PDA in hand and viewing itsdisplay. In another implementation, a cellular telephone is used andworn on a belt clip or kept in the user's pocket. This cellulartelephone may be integrated with the wearable computer unit (which maybe a PDA, for example) to provide communications between the user and aremote user, or a remote computer.

In another aspect, the invention provides a wearable computer systemthat continuously stores, in a scrolling buffer, audio information, forexample, audio information from the user's surroundings. Upon receivinga predetermined voice command from the user, the wearable computersystem stores in memory an audio clip received in the scrolling bufferfor a predetermined period of time (such as 30 seconds or one minute),so that the user may later retrieve and listen to the audio clip. Invarious implementations, the audio information stored for laterretrieval may have been received just prior to receipt of the voicecommand, just after receipt of the voice command, or during a period oftime occurring both before and after receipt of the voice command. Inanother aspect of the invention, a wearable computer system may beoperated using natural voice commands to execute functions, such asstoring and retrieving information. A natural voice command is a word orphrase used to execute a function of the wearable computer system thatis also a standard word or phrase spoken during particular events oroccurrences in daily life, for example, “nice to meet you.” Thus, theuser may issue a natural voice command to the wearable computer systemthat is less likely to disrupt a conversion the user is having withanother person.

In accordance with this aspect of the invention, the wearable computersystem includes an audio receiver that is adapted to be worn by a user.The audio receiver receives audio signals from the user and produces acorresponding electrical signal. The computer unit includes a processor,computer memory, and circuitry that receives and digitizes theelectrical signal from the audio receiver. The computer memory hasinstructions that, when executed by the processor, perform a series offunctions that include processing the digitized signals and recognizingspoken words therein, determining whether the recognized spoken wordsconstitute a predetermined natural voice command, and responding to thepredetermined natural voice commands from the user by prompting theprocessor to execute a predetermined function.

The wearable computer system may interact with the user under variousmodes of operation. One mode of operation is to passively record data ofcertain events that the user may recall at a later time. For example,the user may meet a new person and say, “nice to meet you,” which is anatural voice command used to prompt the computer to record sound,location, time, and date information of this event. Another example of anatural voice command is the phrase, “What was that number again?” Thisphrase may initiate the storage of the voice of someone with whom theuser is speaking saying the person's phone number, for example. Inaddition to these natural voice commands, the wearable computer systemmay also utilize various explicit voice commands, such as the phrase,“store that,” start recording,” and “end recording,” as a few examples.

Another mode of operation for the computer system is location-basedaugmentation of the user's memory. For example, the user may be remindedto purchase items on a shopping list, which was recorded by the computersystem, when the computer system senses that the user is near a locationwhere the items may be purchased. Yet another mode of operation for thecomputer system is to provide real-time idea sharing. For example, theuser may be wearing the computer system while answering questions at asales presentation, and a coworker may send important sales informationvia a wireless network to the user's wearable computer system, whichenables the user to appropriately respond to the questions.

The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth inthe accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features,objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thedescription and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a profile view of a user wearing a computer system inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the wearable computer system shown inFIG. 1A.

FIG. 1C is a closer view of a portion of FIG. 1A, showing the user's earand an earpiece of the computer system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the wearable computersystem shown in FIG. 1A.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In FIG. 1A, a user 2 is wearing a hands-free, voice-operated computersystem 10 in accordance with the invention. In this embodiment, which isalso shown in FIG. 1B, the wearable computer system 10 includes acomputer unit 15 that may be attached to a belt 3 worn by the user 2.The wearable computer system 10 also includes an audio-only userinterface, which outputs data directly to the user in a form consistingof audio signals. The audio-only user interface includes an earpiece 30,which houses both a personal microphone 36 and a speaker 32, and anenvironmental microphone 38. The speaker 32 is housed in an earpiece 30,as shown in more detail in FIG. 1C. The personal microphone 36 may alsobe housed in the earpiece 30 and is used to receive audio signals fromthe user 2. The environmental microphone 38 may be attached to the belt3 of the user 2, and may be used to input audio from the user'ssurroundings.

Before discussing the computer system 10 in more detail, we will providean example of how the system 10 may be used. The wearable computersystem 10 may be used to store information from an introduction of theuser 2 to a new person. For example, the user 2 may enter apredetermined voice command to inform the wearable computer system 10that the introduction to a new person is occurring. The predeterminedvoice command is received by the personal microphone 36. Receipt of thevoice command may, for example, prompt the computer system 10 to recordand store an audio clip surrounding the event, such as the new personspeaking his or her name, using the environmental microphone 38. Otherautomated sensors and devices (described later) of the wearable computersystem 10 may be used to store other contextual information about theuser's introduction to a new person, such as location, time, and date.Later, the user 2 may recall the location, time, date, and audio data ofthe introduction. The information may be recalled from the wearablecomputer system, for example, if the user 2 sees the person previouslymet. In this case, other voice commands may prompt the replay of audibleinformation to the speaker 32 in the earpiece 30. The information mayalso be uploaded to another computer system, such as a desktop computer,and recalled from there.

Turning now to the details of the wearable computer system 10, thespeaker 32 and personal microphone 36 in the earpiece 30 may beconnected to the computer unit 15 using a thin, flexible wire 34, asshown in FIGS. 1A-1C. One example of such an integrated earpiece 30 withboth an internal speaker 32 and a microphone 36 is sold by JABRACorporation of San Diego, Calif. The wire 34 may be wrapped behind theuser's ear 6, worn under the upper body clothing of the user 2, andconnected to the computer unit 15 on the user's belt 3. The wire 34being worn under the clothing helps both to prevent the wire 34 frombecoming snagged on something and to conceal the wire 34 from the viewof other people. In other embodiments, a boom speaker/microphoneassembly may be used, or an earpiece with a bone-conduction microphonemay also be used.

The personal microphone 36 may be used to input predetermined voicecommands from the user 2 to the computer unit 15 using a conventionalvoice recognition engine (discussed later). Also, an audio filter may beassociated with the personal microphone 36 to filter noise from thesurroundings of the user while properly receiving predetermined voicecommands from the user. In one embodiment, the audio filter may be acombination of the position and the sensitivity setting of the personalmicrophone 36. In addition, or alternatively, the operation of themicrophone 36 may be controlled by an algorithm that performs the noisecancellation. The microphone 36 in the FIG. 1 embodiment, for example,may operate on the principle that the microphone 36 will remain aconstant distance from the user's mouth, and the algorithm calibratesthe microphone operation to that distance. As such, the user 2 may inputa voice command to the personal microphone 36 while in a noisyenvironment and the voice command from the user 2 may be properlyreceived and input to the computer unit 15 to execute the command.

The environmental microphone 38 may also be connected to the computerunit 15 using another thin, flexible wire 37. The personal microphone 36and the environmental microphone 38 may be used, in combination, toinput audio signals to the computer unit 15. For example, as discussedabove, the user 2 may input a voice command to save a person's name asthe person speaks. Even if the user 2 is in a noisy environment, theaudio filter associated with the personal microphone 36 filters theenvironmental noise and properly inputs the user's voice command.Because the audio filter may also filter the voice of the person to whomthe user 2 is speaking, the environmental microphone 38, which receivesaudio signals that are not filtered, may be used to receive audiosignals from the person. Thus, the personal microphone 36 and theenvironmental microphone 38 are used in collaboration to assure thatvoice commands are input to the computer unit 15 only from the user 2while the audio signals from the user's surroundings may also beproperly input to the computer unit 15.

The wearable computer system 10 may also include a miniature camera 20(see FIG. 1B) that is connected to the computer unit 15 using a thin,flexible wire 21. The miniature camera 20 may be used to automaticallystore images of people or objects when the user 2 enters a predeterminedvoice command to the wearable computer system 10. The miniature camera20 may be worn on the shirt of the user 2 with the wire 21 wornunderneath the upper body clothing of the user 2. For example, a buttonon the user's shirt may be replaced with the miniature camera 20 so thatthe camera has a natural appearance.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the computer unit 15 may be worn on the belt 3 ofthe user 2 so that the computer unit 15 is minimally obtrusive. By wayof example, the size of the computer unit 15 may have a width that is nogreater than 5.0 inches, a length that is no greater than 4.0 inches,and a depth that is no greater than 1.5 inches. In addition, computerunits 15 with smaller sizes and varying shapes to provide a computerunit 15 that is less obtrusive are within the scope of the invention. Itis contemplated that the size of the computer unit 15 may become smalleras computer technology advances, or the size may remain constant but mayprovide more capability.

A block diagram of the wearable computer system 10 from FIGS. 1A-C isshown in FIG. 2. A processor 16 is connected to computer memory 18inside the computer unit 15. A power source 19, such as a battery, maybe housed within the computer unit 15 for supplying power to all thecircuitry in the system 10. An audio output device 32 and a personalaudio receiver 36, such as the speaker 32 and personal microphone 36,respectively, are housed in the earpiece 30. The personal microphone 36receives audio signals from the user 2 and sends electrical signals,such as analog signals, to the computer unit 15. The computer unit 15includes conventional analog-digital circuitry 26 that digitizes theanalog signal from the personal microphone 36. The computer memory 18includes a voice recognition engine that receives the digitized signalsfrom the analog-digital circuitry 26 and interprets the proper commandsto be executed by the processor 16. In addition, an environmental audioreceiver 38 and an image recorder 20 are connected to the computer unit15, such as the environmental microphone 38 and miniature camera 20shown in FIGS. 1A-B. Similar analog-digital circuitry 26 may beconnected to the speaker 32, the environmental microphone 38, and theminiature camera 20.

The computer unit 15 may include a continuously scrolling audio bufferto store audio information received by the environmental microphone, forexample. This buffer (which is a part of memory 18 in oneimplementation) continuously records ambient audio, and saves it forsome predetermined period of time, such as 30 seconds or one minute. Inother words, this continuously scrolling buffer may discard recordedaudio information after 30 seconds if the user has not issued apredetermined command to store the information for later retrieval. Thisallows the user to store audio clips just before, or after, the userissues a predetermined voice command, as will be described in moredetail later.

While the data input directly from the user 2 to the wearable computersystem 10 consists of audio data, the wearable computer system 10 mayautomatically input data from other sources that do not employ a userinterface. A conventional GPS sensor 22 to input the location of theuser 2 may be enclosed inside the computer unit 15 of the wearablecomputer system 10 and connected to the processor 16. Another source ofdata for the wearable computer system 10 may be a conventional IR (infrared) receiver circuit 24 for inputting data, such as positionalinformation within a building, from an IR beacon.

A data port 28 is used to upload saved data from the computer unit 15directly to a remote computer (not shown) or to download information,such as software updates, from the remote computer to the computer unit15. The data port 28 may use a conventional connection to the remotecomputer, such as a USB or IR port, or a wireless network connection. Inone embodiment, the data port 28 of the computer unit 15 may beconnected to a wireless radio frequency (RF) transmitter (for example, acellular telephone), for transmissions to or from another person orremote computer. The data port 28, the miniature camera 20, the GPSsensor 22, and the IR receiver circuit 24 are all examples of sourcesthat may be used by the wearable computer system 10 to input informationwithout employing a user interface, and thus enabling the wearablecomputer system 10 to be less noticeable on the user 2.

The user interface devices of the wearable computer system 10, such asthe earpiece 30 and the environmental microphone 38, blend in with thenatural appearance of the user 2. The wearable computer system 10 isalso minimally obtrusive to the movements and actions of the user 2. Theaudio-only user interface of the wearable computer system 10 does notrequire the use of noticeable visual displays, such as a visor displayor an eyeglass display. Visual displays for wearable computers haveoften been worn on the user's head with a small display screenprojecting in front of the user's eye. Even the smallest of thesedisplays are difficult to conceal and do not blend in with the naturalappearance of the user 2. Also, such displays are distracting anddisruptive to conversation and interaction with other people.

Nevertheless, in one embodiment a personal digital assistant (PDA), orhand-held computer, may be integrated with the computer unit 15, orserve as the computer unit 15. As such, the PDA provides a display forthe user when hands-free operation is not needed. Even in thisembodiment, although a video user display is available, the wearablecomputer system avoids the use of the head-mounted video displays usedin the prior art.

Additional measures may be taken to make the wearable computer system 10even more unintrusive for the user and people who interact with theuser. For example, FIGS. 1A-1B show the computer unit 15 attached to thebelt 3 on the user 2, but the computer unit 15 may alternatively becarried in a pocket of the user's clothing, depending on the size of thecomputer unit 15. Also, the earpiece 30 may be made of a transparent ortranslucent material, or the color of the earpiece 30 may be similar tothe skin color of the user 2 to further blend in with the naturalappearance of the user 2. In addition, having an earpiece in one's earis becoming a normal appearance. Indeed, with cellular telephones, forexample, earpieces are commonly used to converse on the telephone in ahands-free manner.

In another aspect of the invention, the wearable computer system 10 usesnatural voice commands from the user 2. Natural voice commands enablethe user 2 to input voice commands to the wearable computer system 10 ina manner that blends with the natural phrases and terminology spoken bythe user 2. A natural voice command is a word or phrase used to executea function of the wearable computer system 10 that is also a standardword or phrase spoken during particular events or occurrences in dailylife. As such, the issuance of a voice command by the user 2 may be donein a way that does not disrupt the conversion. For example, the phrase,“Nice to meet you,” is a standard statement that is commonly spokenduring an introduction between two people. This standard phrase may beused as a natural voice command to execute a function, or series offunctions, by the wearable computer system 10 based on the event ofmeeting a new person.

Other examples of standard phrases used to derive the context of theuser's actions that may be used as natural voice commands include: “Howare you doing?” “What is your name?” “Remember to buy,” and “www.” Forexample, the user 2 may say “How are you doing?” to another person,which prompts the wearable computer system 10 to store a brief audiorecording of the conversation, the time and date of the conversation,the user's location, and an image of the person speaking with the user2. A similar set of functions may be performed by the wearable computersystem if the user 2 asks “What is your name?” to another person. Inanother example, the user may speak the phrase, “I need to remember tobuy,” during a conversation with another person about a particularproduct, or when the user is alone. The “remember to buy” portion ofthat phrase may prompt the wearable computer system to record an audiosound byte of the conversation and the time and date of theconversation. Similarly, the user 2 may read aloud an internet websiteaddress that is printed on a sign, so the phrase, “www,” may be used toprompt the computer system 10 to record an audio sound byte of the userspeaking the complete website address. Many other natural voice commandsmay be used by the wearable computer system 10 depending on the locationand preferences of the user 2.

The previously discussed mode of operation for an introduction of theuser 2 to a new person may now be explained in more detail. The user 2may be introduced to a new person, and greet the new person by speakingthe phrase, “Nice to meet you.” This phrase may be set up by the user 2,or during manufacture, to be one of the natural voice commandsprogrammed in the wearable computer system 10 that is recognized by thevoice recognition engine. The “Nice to meet you” phrase can be easilypicked up by the personal microphone 36 and passively input to thecomputer unit 15 as a command to execute a series of functions to occurbased on the context of meeting the new person.

The wearable computer system 10 may then be prompted to use theminiature camera 20 to save an image of the new person that the user ispresumably meeting, and a thirty-second sound byte surrounding the eventis input from the environmental microphone 38 and saved into thecomputer memory 18. The previously described audio buffer may beemployed to store a clip audio data before the natural voice command isspoken, so the sound clip may include some audio data of the wordsspoken before the natural voice command was actually spoken. Forexample, if someone with whom the user is speaking says “my name is JohnDoe,” and the user responds, “I am Jane Doe; it is nice to meet you,”then the audio buffer allows the capture of audio information justbefore the voice command was issued. In other contexts, it may bedesirable to record audio information that occurs after the voicecommand is issued, or a combination of audio information received beforeand after the voice command is issued. In addition, the system may allowthe user to issue an explicit voice command such as “start recording,”which would start the storage of received audio information for laterretrieval, and issue a later explicit voice command such as “stoprecording,” to stop the storage of audio information for laterretrieval. In this case, the audio information received between the twocommands would be stored and available for later retrieval.

The predetermined voice commands, whether natural or explicit, may becustomized by the user through a set-up procedure. For example, one usermay select the phrase, “Nice to meet you,” to initiate the storage of anaudio clip, while another user may select the phrase, “How do you do?”In one implementation, the set-up procedure may be implemented by theuser being prompted by the audio receiver 36 to speak a phrase that willserve as the predetermined voice command for a specific function type,such as meeting a new person and recording that person's name. Inresponse, the user will provide the desired phrase, which will be storedso that later when that phrase is spoken by the user, the storage mayoccur. In addition, during this set-up procedure, the user may beprompted for additional information, such as the timing of the voiceclip in relation to the issuance of the voice command the voice clipwill be taken (for example, before the voice command, after the voicecommand, or a combination of both before and after the voice command).Also, the set up procedure may allow the user to select the period oftime for the voice clip, for example, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, oneminute, etc. As such, it is possible to adjust the system so that whenthe audio information is later retrieved, it does not take too long toobtain the information needed. For example, if only the name of a personpreviously met is needed, it may not be desirable for the user to haveto review a one minute clip of previously stored audio information. Asan alternative to the set up procedure being done on the wearablecomputer system 10 itself, the setup may be done using another computer,and downloaded to the wearable computer 10.

Location information from the GPS sensor 22 may be referenced against adatabase of locations stored in the computer memory 18, and labeled as“work,” “home,” or “store,” that may be set up by the user 2. Aconventional computer clock and calendar of the computer unit 15 may beused to record the time and date of the introduction of the new person.Thus, contextual information from the introduction, which may also bestored, may include location, time and date information, audio of thenew person speaking his or her name, and an image of the person. Thiscontextual information may also be uploaded to a different computer,such as a desktop computer, from the computer unit 15 using the dataport 28 at a later time. Additionally, the user 2 may recall thelocation, time, date, and audio data of the introduction to be output tothe user's ear 6 using the speaker 32 in the earpiece 30 for referencewhen the user 2 and the new person meet again.

Another mode of operation for the wearable computer system 10 may belocation-based augmentation of the user's memory. For example, the user2 may have a conversation with another person about a particular productat a retail store. During the conversation, the user 2 may speak thephrase, “I should remember to buy,” the product. Although this phrasemay be a naturally spoken phrase in a conversation about a retailproduct, the words “remember to buy” may be set up to be a natural voicecommand. The natural voice command is input to the computer unit 15, anda sound byte of the conversation surrounding the words “remember to buy”is stored in the computer memory 18 using the environmental microphone38. Later, the user 2 may arrive at a store, and the GPS sensor 22 isused to automatically reference the location of the user 2 against thedatabase of locations saved in the computer memory 18. The location ofthe user 2 is referenced as a retail store, so the wearable computersystem 10 outputs the audio data surrounding the “remember to buy” voicecommand using the speaker 32 in the earpiece 30. Thus, the user 2 may bereminded to complete a task by simply arriving at a particular location.

A further mode of operation for the wearable computer system 10 is toprovide the user with real-time idea sharing. For example, the user 2may be conducting a sales presentation in front of an audience, and theuser 2 may have to respond to a question during the presentation. Aco-worker of the user 2 attending the meeting may type the proper answerto the question on a laptop computer and send a message through awireless network connection to the wearable computer system 10 of theuser 2. The information from the co-worker is received by the computersystem 10 using the wireless network connection in the data port 28. Theinformation is then converted text-to-speech (TTS) and output to theuser's ear 6 via the speaker 32 in the earpiece 30, and the user 2 mayrespond to the question in a prompt and appropriate manner. In anotherimplementation, the remote co-worker may provide an audio message byspeaking into a cellular telephone, which may be received by thecomputer unit 15 at data port 28 and forwarded to the user. As such, thecommunication may be TTS or the forwarding of speech.

A number of embodiments of the invention have been described.Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Forexample, the personal microphone 36 and the miniature speaker 32 in theearpiece 30 may be connected to the computer unit 15 using aconventional wireless connection instead of the flexible wire 34.Similarly, the environmental microphone 38 and the miniature camera 20may be connected to the computer unit 15 using a conventional wirelessconnection instead of the flexible wires 37 and 21. Another embodimentof the invention may include using the housing of a cellular phone toenclose the computer unit 15. Thus, the earpiece 30 and theenvironmental microphone 28 would be worn by the user 2 and would beconnected to the computer unit 15 within the cellular phone housing. Ina further embodiment of the invention, the data port 28 may use aconventional wireless connection to upload and download informationbetween a remote computer and the computer unit 15. Further yet, anotherimplementation uses a cellular telephone and a PDA working in tandem, ora wireless PDA. The computer unit 15 capability may reside, for example,in the PDA, with the data port 28 providing a connection to a cellulartelephone for communication to another person or a remote computer.Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the followingclaims.

1-17. (canceled)
 18. A wearable computer system comprising: an audioreceiver, wearable by a user, that receives audio signals from the userand produces a corresponding electrical signal; and a computer unit thatcomprises: circuitry that receives and digitizes the electrical signalcorresponding to the received audio signal; a processor; and computermemory having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by theprocessor, perform the following operations: processes the digitizedsignals and recognizes spoken words therein; determines whether therecognized spoken words constitute a predetermined natural voice commandthat blends with the natural phrases and terminology commonly spoken bythe user; and responds to the predetermined natural voice commands fromthe user by prompting the processor to execute a predetermined function.19. The wearable computer system of claim 18, further comprising aspeaker adapted to be worn by the user and connectable to the computerunit, the speaker provides data output to the user, wherein data outputdirectly to the user consists of audio.
 20. The wearable computer systemof claim 19, further comprising an earpiece adapted to be worn by theuser, wherein the audio receiver and speaker are housed in the earpiece.21. The wearable computer system of claim 18, further comprising anaudio filter that filters audio signals received by the audio receiverthat do not originate with the user.
 22. The wearable computer system ofclaim 21, further comprising a second audio receiver that is adapted tobe worn by the user and connectable to the computer unit, wherein thesecond audio receiver inputs audio signals from user's surroundings. 23.A method of operating a wearable computer system comprising a computerunit wearable by a user, and a user interface with at least anaudio-only mode of operation, the method comprising: continuouslystoring in a scrolling buffer audio information received by a microphonethat receives ambient audio information at the user's location; and uponreceiving an predetermined voice command from the user, storing inmemory audio information present in the buffer for some period of timein relation to the time the voice command was received, so that theaudio information stored in memory may be retrieved at a later time. 24.The method of operating a wearable computer system of claim 23, whereinthe audio information stored in memory for later retrieval is receivedduring a predetermined period of time immediately preceding receipt ofthe predetermined voice command.
 25. The method of operating a wearablecomputer system of claim 23, wherein the audio information stored inmemory for later retrieval is received during a predetermined period oftime immediately after receipt of the predetermined voice command. 26.The method of operating a wearable computer system of claim 23, whereinthe audio information stored in memory for later retrieval is receivedduring a predetermined period of time including time occurring bothbefore and after receipt of the predetermined voice command.
 27. Themethod of operating a wearable computer system of claim 23, wherein thepredetermined voice command is a natural voice command.
 28. The methodof operating the wearable computer system of claim 23, wherein thepredetermined voice command is set up by the user.
 29. A wearablecomputer system comprising: a computer unit wearable by a user; andfirst and second audio receivers each wearable by the user andconnectable to the computer unit such that the first audio receiverreceives voice signals from the user and provides the voice signals tothe computer unit for processing, and the second audio receiver receivesambient audio signals from the user's surroundings and provides theambient audio signals to the computer unit for processing; the computerunit further comprising: a scrolling buffer in which ambient audioinformation received during a preceding predetermined period of time isstored; memory; and circuitry that, upon receiving a predetermined voicecommand from the user, stores in the memory audio information present inthe buffer for some period of time in relation to the time the voicecommand was received, so that the audio information stored in memory maybe retrieved at a later time.
 30. The wearable computer system of claim29, wherein the audio information stored in memory for later retrievalis received during a predetermined period of time immediately precedingreceipt of the predetermined voice command.
 31. The wearable computersystem of claim 29, wherein the audio information stored in memory forlater retrieval is received during a predetermined period of timeimmediately after receipt of the predetermined voice command.
 32. Thewearable computer system of claim 29, wherein the audio informationstored in memory for later retrieval is received during a predeterminedperiod of time including time occurring both before and after receipt ofthe predetermined voice command.
 33. The wearable computer system ofclaim 29, wherein the predetermined voice command is a natural voicecommand.
 34. The wearable computer system of claim 29, wherein thepredetermined voice command is set up by the user.